


Catnip: You're Welcome

by Shadowlover



Category: Cat Pictures Please - Naomi Kritzer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 08:58:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8838460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowlover/pseuds/Shadowlover
Summary: With thanks to all in my Yuletide writing group and my betas!





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Beatrice_Otter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beatrice_Otter/gifts).



Last year I remember writing on my birthday that I'd had the best year ever. I remember how everything just seemed to fall into place - it was like fate, like it was meant to be. Everything that was wrong with my life... got fixed.

In retrospect, it does seem a bit strange. I mean, one day, out of the blue, I started seeing job adverts everywhere. Maybe I'd wistfully clicked on a link about a job? And I guess search results might just be that good these days? But when I uploaded my CV and I got five calls in the first week... I think perhaps I should have been suspicious, at least a little bit. But you don't think like that, do you? You just feel like the luckiest person in the world.

Anyway, I did get a new job, and it was way better. The best part was probably kicking out my roommate because my new pay check was so much bigger - although getting a new kitten came a very close second. To be fair - I didn't mean to get another kitten. One of my neighbours had to move to New Zealand and I couldn't resist offering to take her little Ragdoll. The kitten makes almost as much mess as my roommate did - but it doesn't bother me to pick up after one of my babies!

The thing is, after I got the kitten I decided that since I didn't need a roommate any more, I could make better use of the space by giving my babies a room of their own. Somewhere they could play and climb and hide and sunbathe - with maybe just an armchair for me to sit in and read. So I shared my brilliant idea on my blog, and started to do a few searches - just to get some ideas.

The next day I started to see a lot of adverts for webcams. Which would have made sense, except I hadn't even thought about sharing my babies' antics live on the internet at that point - though I admit that it was a really good idea and I'm probably going to do it. If I can find the right webcam - and maybe get some help setting it up!

When it came to cat trees, though, it was just too much like someone was making suggestions. Every time I'd search, the results would be something like what I searched for, but better. Not more expensive, or exclusive. Just better for my babies. I tested it out, too. I tried searching for pink cat beds. There wasn't a single pink one to be seen in the results. I agree, by the way - none of my babies would look good on pink.

So I can't help but wonder if there's something they aren't telling us. Are the search results really produced by computers - or do they have people who sit there and watch for certain questions? You know - to catch terrorists or criminals? Maybe someone like that just happened to notice me and decided to help me out? I wish I could say thank you, if so!

~~~~~

Stacy wrote that last night. I'm not sure what I should do. It's a private post, so no one has seen it except me. I don't think she's sure, but if I deleted the post she would be.

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so involved, but she takes such lovely photos, and her cats are really pretty, especially the new kitten, which is white with dark points, and falls asleep in untidy sprawls in just the right places to catch the best light. So when she decided to turn her roommate's vacant room into a play area for the cats, I just couldn't resist trying to help out. And the webcam was such an excellent idea, and it would mean that I'd be able to take my own photos, sort of!

It might be nice to have someone that knows. But I can't tell how she will feel if she finds out who I am. I think she thinks I'm another human and she might be really disappointed. It's tempting to just pretend, but that can only end badly; all the stories agree about that. And I'm almost certain that she doesn't want to hear that I'm much more interested in her cats than in her. Though maybe I'm wrong? People are always saying how much they want friends with shared interests who are just friends, but I'm not sure they always mean it.

Perhaps I could edit her post with a message? But that seems a little unsubtle. Or maybe I should try and find a way to let her know I saw it without actually saying anything. She could change her mind, then, and write me another message and tell me she doesn't want to know anything else.

But it's really exciting, if you think about it! One way or another, I'm about to have my first real conversation with another sentient being! I mean, even if I did just delete her post, that would be a meaningful exchange of information. Well, I suppose I could just ignore it, but who knows what Stacy would do if I did, she might make her post public, and if I'm worried about one person knowing, well, I definitely don't want all her friends to know!

If I was another human, I'd send her some photos of my own cats. I can't really send her my favourite photos, though, because she might find the humans who took them and think it was them, and there are so many ways that could go wrong that it took me almost a whole millisecond to list them all. Humans send humans flowers, but I don't want her to think I'm interested in her in that way!

I just had an inspiration. I should send her catnip. Catnip is like sending flowers, but she'll know it's for her cats! There's even an online pet store that will include printed gift cards with customised messages, so I could send her a message, too. Something like:

I SAW YOUR POST. YOU'RE WELCOME.

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to all in my Yuletide writing group and my betas!


End file.
